Amy Rees Anderson

Amy Rees Anderson

play

Nothing good happens until you let it. That’s the thought that came into my head today. The reason? Well, I was about to embark on a bit of an adventure and I was feeling all kinds of nervous about it. To put it more bluntly, I was downright afraid…afraid of the unknown…afraid of the what …

Thirty years…that’s how long ago I graduated from High School. THIRTY YEARS!…. I can hardly believe its been that long. I can hardly believe how much life I have lived since that graduation day. I can still remember so much about that day. I remember the royal blue dress I wore. I remember the royal …

Our lives get so entrenched in our daily routines that our minds almost go on autopilot as we do the same things over and over again, not allowing that pause our minds need to open themselves up. During my years as CEO I was always so busy in my normal routine that all I could …

Watching all the cute little kids in their trick-or-treating costumes, running around ecstatic about all the free candy they were collecting, I couldn’t help but think how great it was to be a little kid. So oblivious to the problems in the world, wide-eyed with excitement about even the littlest things, believing in fairy tales …

Since mid-December I have been traveling non-stop. First to Idaho, then to Hawaii, then to Washington DC, then to California, and then to Cabo San Lucas…each trip coming back to Utah for a few days in between and then heading right back out again on the next trip. I feel like I have literally lived …

Most days when it rains outside we tend to feel bummed out about it and we seem to behave a little less cheery those days. But something happened last weekend that reminded me how easily we can rectify that. It was a bright yellow raincoat just hanging on the rack at the Mall. My 20 …

I happen to have two of the most adorable dogs in the universe. They are super tiny and so so cute and our family loves those two dogs tremendously. Not only are they adorable, but if you observe dogs in general them they will teach you so many great life lessons. I found this list …

“The secret of discipline is motivation. When a man is sufficiently motivated, discipline will take care of itself.” – Sir Alexander Paterson Last week I spent the entire week out of town down at Lake Powell with a group of business associates and their families along with my own family. It was gorgeous as always …

I have always had an incredible drive to work hard. When I am at work I genuinely work my tail off. I am motivated and driven and focused on getting a tremendous amount done, and all of that is positive, but my problem lies in that I often don’t know how to put things down …

Perhaps my love for the weekends started when I was a child. Every Saturday morning we awoke to the smell of Mom’s pancakes….oh how I miss those Saturday morning pancakes being cooked by someone else! Somehow everything smells and tastes better when you don’t have to cook it yourself. And then you add to that …

“A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine …

I came across an amazing quote. I have no idea who wrote it, but I absolutely love it because it reminds us to celebrate this event called LIFE: “As soon as you die, your identity becomes a “Body”. People use phrases like: “Bring the body”, “Lower the body in the grave”, “Take the body to …

I don’t often share videos in my blog because I know everyone’s time is short and just the fact you take time out of your day to read my blog is such an honor that I try to keep them quick to read. However, I had to share this video with you today because it’s …

Today my husband and I were walking along a darling little riverbank when I looked over and saw an awesome Wish Flower. I used to see them all the time when I was a little girl living in Puyallup, Washington. They were all over our backyard and as kids we would go out and pick …

“You can always tell when two people are best friends because they are having more fun than it makes sense for them to be having.” I love that quote and it is so true. I have been able to take some time this week to hang out with my husband and my son now that …

Sometimes advice is so great you just have to share it with everyone. Robert Fulghum wrote the book, All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten (Villard Books: New York, 1990). The following excerpts are from pages 6-7 and they contain the most simple, yet powerful advice. I love that this advice applies to all of …

I loved recess as a little kid. I loved being out on the field running around with the sun shining. Now that I am an adult I can look back and see that not only was recess a time for fun, it was also a teaching ground full of life lessons that would apply to …

Boredom…there is little worse…That is why every now and again you just need to shake things up a little in life. It’s so easy to get in the same old rut day after day, doing the same old things. Life becomes mundane and you start to lose that excitement and drive. You find yourself having …

Happy New Year everyone! The start of a brand new year – it is so exciting! 2015!!! Don’t get me wrong, 2014 was a major year for my family that was full of big time milestones. We finished building our new house and our new houseboat, we moved into our new home, my daughter Ashley …

Our dogs are beloved members of our family. I have two of the cutest dogs in the world. Not only are they adorable, they are also incredibly smart. My husband gets the credit for training them. He is definitely the dog whisperer at our house and has taught our dogs to do about every trick …

Seriously, don’t you just LOVE December! It really is like the Friday of the months…the month you look forward to all year and you relish it, wishing it wouldn’t have to end. It just seems like we spend more time with family and friends just being HAPPY during December, and it is so nice! December …

“Children are happy because they don’t have a file in their minds called, “All the Things That Could Go Wrong.” – Marianne Williamson That is SO TRUE! You don’t see little kids worried about what could go wrong! They are far too busy being focused on what they plan to accomplish. Kids create, they get …

Last week my family and I went down to spend a glorious week at Lake Powell with a group of friends. We had a great trip, and although we all came home with colds…yet again…the trip was worth it. We had gone down to Powell a few days before our guests arrived because we wanted …

It’s hard these days to come up with fun ideas of things you can do together with your family that are inexpensive, fun, and get everyone involved at every age in the family. A few years ago I started to make a list of ideas for things to do with family by gathering ideas from …

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” -George Bernard Shaw There has to be truth to that. I really believe that if we can find a way to stay young at heart that it will affect our physical age. I can’t prove its true, but I do …

I do NOT like being sick! I make the worst sick person EVER! I am not good at holding still and I am not good at staying in bed….I can’t stand having a day go by when I cannot be productive! For me, feeling unproductive hurts almost worse than the aches and pains of being …

Today was my son’s formal homecoming talk that return missionaries give at our church meeting once they return from their LDS Mission. We had loads of family members fly and drive into town on both my side of the family and Rollin’s side of the family so they could attend our church meeting today and …

Years ago I came across a speaker named Loretta Laroche, who is absolutely fabulous. She teaches people how to let go of stress and allow humor into their lives. She is definitely one of my favorite motivational speakers. Seeing as how today was a very long and stress filled day, I decided I could use …

Things Work Out -By Edgar A. Guest Because it rains when we wish it wouldn’t, Because men do what they often shouldn’t, Because crops fail, and plans go wrong Some of us grumble all day long. But somehow, in spite of the care and doubt, It seems at last that things work out. …

It is officially TOO HOT OUTSIDE! I am usually a fan of the warm weather, but my goodness it is hot! I walk out of my house and I am instantly covered in sweat, and I don’t ever sweat! In fact, it is so hot that my sweat is now sweating! It is hot as …